International child arrangements guide

Life is becoming more international and families with it. It's important for your child that their relationship with both parents is encouraged and maintained, even when you live in different countries.

What are international child arrangements?

This area of law covers a whole range of different areas that relate to a child. It can include agreements reached on contact and surrogacy, but it also encompasses contentious areas such as a disagreement on where the child lives, who they spend time with and whether they can live abroad. We have specialist pages on these topics.

On this page, we deal with agreements and disagreements between parents about where a child will live and where they will spend time.

Just like domestic child arrangements, the most important consideration is the welfare of your child. There is a presumption that the involvement of both parents in your child’s life will further their welfare. This means that if your ex lives abroad, you should still encourage their relationship with your child. Of course, having two parents who live in separate countries can bring practical difficulties day to day. This makes it even more important to foster positive and respectful co-parenting communication.

Making arrangements with a co-parent abroad

The courts operate a ‘no order’ principle in respect of arrangements for children in England and Wales, which means that if you and your ex can agree child arrangements between you then there's no need for a court order in England and Wales to be in place. There are many ways that you and your co-parent can do this including discussing it directly, using solicitors or using mediation. All these methods can be conducted virtually from different countries. Though a court order is not required if there's an agreement, it's prudent to draft anything into a Parenting Agreement which will record what you have agreed. Though not binding, it's helpful and can be shown to a court later if needed.

If you and your ex really can’t reach an agreement about who your child will live with or how they will spend time with their other parent, then it may be necessary to make an application to the court. It will be important to take legal advice to establish which court has jurisdiction (meaning which court has the power) to hear your case. It may be that there is more than one country that can hear the application. It's important to take advice from family lawyers in the relevant countries to understand exactly what the procedure is for making an application there.

Wherever a court order is ultimately made, in England and Wales, or elsewhere, you should seek legal advice on the enforceability of it in England and Wales. If the order is made here or in another country that is a signatory to the 1996 Hague Convention, then it will likely be recognised and upheld. If the order is from a non-signatory to the 1996 Hague Convention or you are looking to enforce an order from England and Wales in a non-signatory country, then specialist legal advice is needed to understand what actions can to be taken.